In the paper dated Tuesday, February 1, 2022, writer Julie Jargon does a big story on how to deal with loneliness.  In the paragraphs below, I will add my thoughts after sentences that made me thoughtful, or laugh out loud.  My comments will be in blue.  Following will be the first paragraph of the article as an introduction.

Loneliness is a reality for many of us, now more than ever.  After last week’s column on the loneliness felt by moms in middle age, my inbox began overflowing with emails from readers, many of whom asked for solutions.

If I had been writing this article, my second paragraph might have gone like this:

For the past two years, the Government, motivated by the Health Establishment (my term is Health Nazis, but that wouldn’t fly in a national newspaper), has, with malice and forethought, enforced extreme loneliness on the entire population of the United States.  Ostensibly, this has been due to the pandemic caused by the CCP Virus, and efforts to “slow the spread”, or “flatten the curve”.  Government rules forced people to work from home, “socially distance” from others when they were forced to leave home to buy groceries, go to work (only if deemed essential by government), or exercise outdoors; and wear dehumanizing face masks everywhere indoors and sometimes even outdoors.  The Health Nazis basically told (and are still telling) the American people to be afraid of all other people, including family, friends, and coworkers.  Is it any wonder that loneliness abounds?  Even little children have been forced to be afraid of their school friends, and to wear masks!  It’s a wonder that every single American is not suffering from terminal loneliness! [italics in quotes are mine]

When our kids are little, we teach them to approach other children on the playground, and ask to be their friend.

We do!!??  I have never before heard that parents are now telling their kids to go and ask some other kid to be their friend.  Parents, please help me out here.  This sounds like behavior motivated by social media, where “friend requests” are common.

One of my colleagues told me about a woman who had read my column and then posted to the local social-networking site Nextdoor.

She asked if anyone else in their Berkeley, Calif. neighborhood would like to form a group for dinners and trivia nights.

“It requires vulnerability to do this, but if you don’t ask, you don’t receive,” said Jillian Richardson, author of “Un-Lonely Planet: How Healthy Congregations Can Change the World.”

She facilitates friendships with the Joy List, a free weekly newsletter of meetups.

Vulnerability?  Why does that sound like a weak, unpleasant emotion, when “openness” might work better.

“Be Social, Minus the Media”

Kat Vellos, a friendship coach and author of “We Should Get Together: The Secret to Cultivating Better Friendships,” suggests inviting friends to take a social-media break with you…

Friendship Coach?  Give me a break!  Why would anyone need a friendship coach?  Have social media and enforced Covid isolation destroyed our ability to relate to others than our families?  Maybe the government and Health Nazis are truly ruining the social fabric of our country.

“Create a Routine” 

If there’s something you need or like to do each day, such as walking your dog, try doing it at the same time, said Danielle Bayard Jackson, a friendship coach.  You’ll probably notice the same people out at the same time and have ample opportunity to strike up a conversation.

Doing so during a pandemic takes a little more care.

Ms. Bayard Jackson advises maintaining a distance and even beginning the conversation be explaining that you’ll stay a few feet away if you sense the other person is nervous about getting too close.

Sorry, but this kind of behavior must stop, and right now.  Social-distancing, especially outdoors, is a thorough hindrance to friendship-making, and it’s time to stop indulging the fears of those who have totally internalized the fear of others.  Someone has to say NO, we will not do this any more.  It is time to stop indulging others’ delusions, and time to stop wearing masks or distancing because others might feel bad.

“Rethink the Hangout”.

One reason many busy parents don’t see friends as often as they’d like is because the very idea of planning outings can feel daunting, especially now when Covid-related safety measures can make everything feel more complicated.  “We have this idea in our minds of happy hours and long brunches, and many people don’t feel they have time for that,” Ms. Bayard Jackson said.

No, the reason busy parents don’t see friends is that the Health Nazis have been telling them for two years that friends are dangerous!  They have been forcing everyone to treat every other person as Infected with the CCP Virus.  Is it any wonder that people are having a hard time re-connecting with friends?

This article just made me want to scream.  This country has been ruled by government decree for two years, making everyone fearful of others.  It’s time for us, the People, to declare the pandemic over, and get back to living our lives.  It’s time for us to throw off the masks (chains of oppression), and refuse to be isolated and fearful of everyone else.  It’s time for the vaccinated to stop rejecting the un-vaccinated, and be their friends again.  Nothing will change if we aren’t the agents of change.  Refuse to Comply!